Cincinnati Tax Resolution - August 2025

Cincinnati Tax Resolution Powered by Toph Sheldon 9200 Montgomery Rd., Ste. 7B Cincinnati, OH 45242

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INSIDE

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Cincinnati Tax Resolution Wins National Award for Excellence

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The Homework Game-Changer Hiding in Your Home Toph Successfully Defends a Grieving Widow From the IRS Ashley’s Corner: The Edgy Art of Letting Go Barbecue Chicken French Bread Pizza

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The Dubious Tax Write-Offs of the Rich and Famous

Toph’s Tax Nightmares

The IRS says work-related deductions must be necessary for your work. Clothing, makeup, personal trainers, bodyguards, and limousines usually don’t qualify because the personal benefits outweigh the business value. For example, a new suit an actor purchases for an audition wouldn’t be allowed because he could wear it again. Actors have often tried to deduct the cost of facelifts and other cosmetic surgery, without success, according to Backstage. Only if a treatment or procedure is tied to the requirements of a particular role are such deductions allowed. One actor who had to wear heavy makeup to play an alien on “Star Trek” was allowed to deduct the cost of a special facial to restore her skin afterward. And if a celebrity has a gown or suit made especially for an awards ceremony or other event, it might qualify. Lady Gaga’s famous meat dress, for example, the beefy gown she had made for the MTV Music Video Awards, would probably qualify — because no one would argue that a beefsteak gown is everyday wear! And careful recordkeeping can sometimes carry the day. According to the Syracuse University report, the IRS questioned an actor’s attempt to deduct 10,000 miles in business travel expenses for driving around Los Angeles — a write-off that saved her about $5,000 in taxes. Commuting expenses aren’t deductible. But because the actor had kept a battered notebook documenting her trips from studio to studio, her accountant said, the write-offs were allowed.

DON’T TRY TO TAKE THESE RED-CARPET WRITE-OFFS!

Many taxpayers dream up creative write-offs to reduce their tax bills. But some celebrities take the game to a new level by trying to deduct just about any expense they claim enables them to maintain their celebrity status. Some attempted deductions don’t make it past the stars’ Hollywood tax accountants. One famous actor tried to deduct $30,000 for the cost of her makeup, hair stylist, wardrobe, and rent. She claimed it all contributed to her being fabulous . Her Los Angeles-based CPA, who specializes in celebrity clients, wasn’t having it. He knocked her deductions down to $11,000, claiming only the ones she could support, according to a series of interviews by a Syracuse University writer.

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